six is just a number: May 2010

Today it finally hit me, I am going to Haiti! Everything is in place and ready. I have food, clothes, and even my cell phone Haiti approved. I still have final packing to do but I am a procrastinator when it comes to that detail. It is scary to sit here and think that I could have every detail ready and yet my heart be unprepared. I don't think that I could possibly prepare myself for the destruction, death, and heartache that I will see in Haiti. I can only hope that for the short time I am there that I will shed some light on the Haitians I come in contact with. I have a feeling that they leave more of an impact on me though. But I know that if I can make a difference for just one person during my visit in Haiti that it will be all worth it. I will try and keep you all posted while I am there and the final days before I leave. Please pray for all of us that are going :)

I know it's been awhile since my last post. Things have been a ZOO! As a forewarning, this is going to be a LOOONG one :)

The race is still on to find foods that Z can eat. I never realized how many items contained corn or dariy! I have been using my culinary skills (hahaha) to make foods that he can eat that resemble those that he can't. This is an overwhelming task in and of itself. I feel awful for him because most of the foods he loves, he can no longer have, and the alternative is not very appealing. So far I have tried to make dairy free mac n cheese, cupcakes, breads and almond milk. Not an utter failure but not a super success either. The mac n cheese had a funny texture due to the dairy free cheese. The cupcakes were a big success even with the other boys. The breads have been an experiment of their own and the almond milk a big long process! It's funny because in the beginning I had this picture in my head of being June Cleaver or something and making all these wonderful things, but then you throw in baseball practice, homework, 4 boys, a husband that travels, and housework and there just isn't much time left for experimenting. I am utterly exhausted! I will show you what I found that works.

Frosted Spiced Cupcakes

~recipe thanks to whole foods :)

Note: it was not necessary for me to eliminate all allergen items, so in some cases I used an alternative ingredient.
For the cupcakes:
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 C almond milk
6 oz. container of plain coconut yogurt
3/4 C sugar
1 TB egg replacer mixer with 1/4 C warm water ( I used 1 egg instead)
2 C rice flour ( I used regular flour)
1/2 ts xanthan gum
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/4 ts salt
1 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/8 ts cloves

For the frosting:
1/4 C vegan margarine
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1-2 TB almond milk
1/4 ts vanilla

Method:
pre-heat oven to 350
whisk together oil, milk, yogurt, sugar and egg/egg replacer in a large bowl
In a separate bowl, mix flour, xanthan gum, baking power, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
Combine the two mixtures
spoon batter into 16 paper-lined standard muffin tins, filling about two-thirds full.
Bake until cooked through and light golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
While waiting, put margarine, sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl and beat with a mixer until combined and fluffy, about a minute.
Spread on cooled cupcakes.
Voila!

I cannot remember the recipe I used for the mac n cheese, and honestly it's not worth it. I attempted to make a dairy free version of Paula Dean's yummy backed macaroni and cheese but it did not come out liked I had hoped.

The almond milk has a simple recipe, but a hard method.

If you used a regular strainer then pulp remained but when I tried the cheese cloth I thought my arm was going to fall off! After many attempts to make the milk taste as creamy as the store bought, adding dates, vanilla, sugar or honey, I realized it wasn't worth the trouble. Especially when you can catch the sales and stock up :)

Also after spending hours at Whole Foods looking for snacks he could eat and paying an arm and a leg, I realized that there are actually many snacks he can have. Such as, chocolate graham crackers, choc chip teddy grahams and even oreos! I am not sure if that is enough to make up for the loss of pizza and ice cream though :(

Last week I had the opportunity to visit my sister in Connecticut, and buddy I jumped on the chance for some quiet and relaxation after 5 long weeks of doing in alone. As sad as it sounds, I spent most of the time on the couch reading and veggin out in front of the TV. I did venture out to window shop and buy my starbucks :), I can't live without my coffee! One afternoon I even hit the beach in New Haven. I was so excited to feel the sand in between my toes, especially since my sister didn't tell me how close to the coast she was. In her defense, she just moved there last fall and hates cold weather. Although there were some brave souls baring their suits already, I felt great in my jeans and tanktop just walking along the board walk.

Since then, I have been trying to get the house back in order while juggling the normal crazy routine at the Starrett house. I did find the time to take some great pictures of the boys though :)